Tuscaloosa City Board of Education: Garrison wins close school board chair race

Incumbents turn back well-funded challengers

From left, Madolyn Price, Lee Garrison and Cason Kirby check election results at the Tuscaloosa River Market on Tuesday.

Michelle Lepianka Carter | The Tuscaloosa News

By Jamon SmithStaff Writer | The Tuscaloosa News

Published: Tuesday, August 27, 2013 at 10:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 at 12:05 a.m.

Despite more than $170,000 poured into the challengers' campaign war chests in the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education races, all of the incumbents except for Kelly Horwitz in District 4 were re-elected, according to unofficial results Tuesday.

In a close race for school board chair, longtime Tuscaloosa City Councilman Lee Garrison squeaked out a victory against Denise Hills.

Voter turnout far exceeded the last school board election in 2009. According to unofficial results, 8,627 votes were cast this year, compared to 3,127 votes in 2009.

“It's time for us to heal as a community and move forward,” Garrison said Tuesday, while celebrating at the Tuscaloosa River Market.

After a contentious race, Garrison said he hopes the boardcan come together and build a consensus about how to move the system forward.

“I hope that everyone that was elected in each district will have that attitude,” he said. “The political part of this process is over, and now it just comes down to hard work, vision and unity.”

The chair-elect said the board should meet and discuss the priorities of each member for their districts.

“We will take that list of priorities and, with a citywide view, address those priorities with the superintendent and his administration,” he said. “I believe the thing we need to do as a board is come together for the benefit of the children. My job as chair is to look out for all the children of the city. And that includes districts we won and especially districts that we lost.”

Hills, a political newcomer, carried districts 2, 5, 6 and 7, but Garrison had overwhelming margins in districts 3 and 4.

Hills did not concede by press time Tuesday night.

“It is really close,” Hills said. “I want to wait until the provisional ballots are taken care of. We don't have the final results.”

The results will not be official until the provisional ballots are opened Tuesday. There were eight boxes with at least 73 provisional ballots. One of the boxes was mislabeled and so the exact number of provisional ballots is unknown.

District 1

James Minyard will serve a fourth term as the board's District 1 representative after easily defeating challenger Earnestine “Stine” Young.

“I want to thank the people for their continued support,” he said. “I'll try to do even better this time.”

Minyard, 70, said the board has taken steps that have improved student achievement in recent years. He wants to see that trend continue, and has ideas about how that can happen.

Minyard has said he wants core subject teachers in elementary schools. Right now, elementary students are now taught every subject by the same teacher. During the campaign, he said that he wants more students in District 1 to participate in advanced classes. He hopes to bring a theme school to the district, similar to the Alberta School of Performing Arts, the Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools or the STEAM program at University Place.

Minyard was endorsed by he Tuscaloosa County chapter of the Alabama New South Coalition and T-VOTE, the political action committee for the Tuscaloosa City School's Alabama Education Association affiliates, the Professional Educators of Tuscaloosa and Tuscaloosa-Educational Support Personnel.

District 4

Turnout in District 4 was high, where voters elected Cason Kirby to replace incumbent Horwitz, 45, who served one term on the board.

Kirby, 26, is a Tuscaloosa attorney who recently graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law and served as UA's SGA president from 2008-09.

A total of 726 people cast votes in the district that covers the UA campus and nearby neighborhoods — more than twice the number, 358, who cast votes in the 2009 race.

Stretch limos and chartered buses took students from campus and the surrounding area to vote at Calvary Baptist Church throughout the day.

During the campaign, Kirby said that the current board micromanaged system administrators. He said that the board should enact evaluation policies that will catch at-risk students earlier and lower drop-out rates.

Horwitz, a lawyer who studied social policy as a Northwestern University undergraduate, raised questions this week after a Board of Registrars list indicated that 11 students lived in the same house on University Circle. She is evaluating whether to contest the results.

“I'm not in a position to make a decision until I have access to the list of who voted,” she said. “Then we can assess to what extent we have questions about the eligibility of people who walked into the polling place today.”

“I am very pleased that (voters) realized the work that we have done. Not I as an individual but we as the board,” Lee said.

Lee, an 81-year-old financial adviser who has served on the board since 2009, touted his board experience during his re-election campaign.

Lee said his priorities remain completion of all the incomplete projects started in recent years.

Particularly, Lee said he wants to see the Alberta School of Performing Arts, which is slated to open in August 2014, completed. He also said he would like to see more schools implement the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) program currently at University Place Middle School.

Gattozzi congratulated Lee on the win and said he planned to remain active advocating for the completion of the performing arts school.

Gattozzi, 54-year-old a local real estate appraiser with GVI Appraisals Inc., campaigned on an argument the district needed “new energy on the board” and more active representation

District 6

Incumbent Marvin Lucas defeated challenger John Lollar in the District 6 race.

“This was a hard-fought race, and we really worked hard to win,” said Lucas, who continued to campaign with supporters at the Grace Church polling place until the close of voting on Tuesday.

Lucas, a 51-year-old employee of DCH Regional Medical Center, sought another term to continue the work to improve the system begun during his tenure on the board.

He said his priority will be making sure the board is on the same page moving forward.

“The main thing is to continue moving in the positive direction that we are moving,” Lucas said. “We have made tremendous progress and we want to continue.”

Lollar said he was disappointed in the results but believed he ran a good race.

Lollar, a 64-year-old vice president and business banker at Robertson Banking Co., argued in his campaign the board needed new leadership, claiming the current members had been indecisive at times and allowed decisions to be delayed too long.

“I gave it a good shot,” Lollar said. “I worked hard and had a lot of good volunteers.”

Lollar said he would like to remain involved with the board.

“I am very passionate about the school system continuing to improve,” Lollar said.

District 7

Incumbent Erskine Simmons defeated challenger Renwick Jones to maintain his District 7 school board seat. Simmons said he was pleased to be able to serve the area's schoolchildren for four more years.

“I'm excited, and most importantly I'm grateful for my family, the people in District 7, all our friends and our supporters of this campaign,” Simmons said shortly after results were announced. “I'm so proud of this campaign in which we focused on the children, and on the children's successes, and not failure, but where we're going for the future.”

Progress needs to continue on recently enacted programs and initiatives, he said, such as the STEAM program at University Place, the newly opened Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy, but also on moving forward those successes to all the schools, especially those in west Tuscaloosa.

“We can do it all, if given the opportunity to continue that fight. I'm confident that if we continue along these lines, we'll see more success,” Simmons said.

Power outage

A short power outage left people unable to vote for about five minutes at the District 1 Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation polling place. The problem did not affect the submission of ballots, said City Clerk Tracy Croom.

A forklift operator at a condo construction site at Ninth Street and 22nd Avenue inadvertently pulled a utility pole and power line down. Alabama Power crews used a jumper to bypass the pole.

City officials considered three alternate City Hall campus locations with access to generator power before services were restored.

What's next

On Nov. 4, Lucas, Lee, Simmons, Minyard, unchallenged District 2 incumbent Earnestine Tucker, District 3 candidate-elect Norman Crow and new board chair Garrison will take office as the new Tuscaloosa City School Board.

<p>Despite more than $170,000 poured into the challengers' campaign war chests in the Tuscaloosa City Board of Education races, all of the incumbents except for Kelly Horwitz in District 4 were re-elected, according to unofficial results Tuesday.</p><p>In a close race for school board chair, longtime Tuscaloosa City Councilman Lee Garrison squeaked out a victory against Denise Hills.</p><p>Voter turnout far exceeded the last school board election in 2009. According to unofficial results, 8,627 votes were cast this year, compared to 3,127 votes in 2009.</p><p>“It's time for us to heal as a community and move forward,” Garrison said Tuesday, while celebrating at the Tuscaloosa River Market.</p><p>After a contentious race, Garrison said he hopes the boardcan come together and build a consensus about how to move the system forward.</p><p>“I hope that everyone that was elected in each district will have that attitude,” he said. “The political part of this process is over, and now it just comes down to hard work, vision and unity.”</p><p>The chair-elect said the board should meet and discuss the priorities of each member for their districts.</p><p>“We will take that list of priorities and, with a citywide view, address those priorities with the superintendent and his administration,” he said. “I believe the thing we need to do as a board is come together for the benefit of the children. My job as chair is to look out for all the children of the city. And that includes districts we won and especially districts that we lost.”</p><p>Hills, a political newcomer, carried districts 2, 5, 6 and 7, but Garrison had overwhelming margins in districts 3 and 4.</p><p>Hills did not concede by press time Tuesday night.</p><p>“It is really close,” Hills said. “I want to wait until the provisional ballots are taken care of. We don't have the final results.”</p><p>The results will not be official until the provisional ballots are opened Tuesday. There were eight boxes with at least 73 provisional ballots. One of the boxes was mislabeled and so the exact number of provisional ballots is unknown.</p><p>District 1</p><p>James Minyard will serve a fourth term as the board's District 1 representative after easily defeating challenger Earnestine “Stine” Young. </p><p>“I want to thank the people for their continued support,” he said. “I'll try to do even better this time.”</p><p>Minyard, 70, said the board has taken steps that have improved student achievement in recent years. He wants to see that trend continue, and has ideas about how that can happen.</p><p>Minyard has said he wants core subject teachers in elementary schools. Right now, elementary students are now taught every subject by the same teacher. During the campaign, he said that he wants more students in District 1 to participate in advanced classes. He hopes to bring a theme school to the district, similar to the Alberta School of Performing Arts, the Tuscaloosa Magnet Schools or the STEAM program at University Place.</p><p>Minyard was endorsed by he Tuscaloosa County chapter of the Alabama New South Coalition and T-VOTE, the political action committee for the Tuscaloosa City School's Alabama Education Association affiliates, the Professional Educators of Tuscaloosa and Tuscaloosa-Educational Support Personnel.</p><p>District 4</p><p>Turnout in District 4 was high, where voters elected Cason Kirby to replace incumbent Horwitz, 45, who served one term on the board. </p><p>Kirby, 26, is a Tuscaloosa attorney who recently graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law and served as UA's SGA president from 2008-09. </p><p>A total of 726 people cast votes in the district that covers the UA campus and nearby neighborhoods — more than twice the number, 358, who cast votes in the 2009 race.</p><p>Stretch limos and chartered buses took students from campus and the surrounding area to vote at Calvary Baptist Church throughout the day.</p><p>During the campaign, Kirby said that the current board micromanaged system administrators. He said that the board should enact evaluation policies that will catch at-risk students earlier and lower drop-out rates.</p><p>Horwitz, a lawyer who studied social policy as a Northwestern University undergraduate, raised questions this week after a Board of Registrars list indicated that 11 students lived in the same house on University Circle. She is evaluating whether to contest the results. </p><p>“I'm not in a position to make a decision until I have access to the list of who voted,” she said. “Then we can assess to what extent we have questions about the eligibility of people who walked into the polling place today.”</p><p>District 5</p><p>Incumbent Harry C. Lee defeated challenger Joe Gattozzi in the District 5 race.</p><p>“I am very pleased that (voters) realized the work that we have done. Not I as an individual but we as the board,” Lee said.</p><p>Lee, an 81-year-old financial adviser who has served on the board since 2009, touted his board experience during his re-election campaign. </p><p>Lee said his priorities remain completion of all the incomplete projects started in recent years.</p><p>Particularly, Lee said he wants to see the Alberta School of Performing Arts, which is slated to open in August 2014, completed. He also said he would like to see more schools implement the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) program currently at University Place Middle School.</p><p>Gattozzi congratulated Lee on the win and said he planned to remain active advocating for the completion of the performing arts school.</p><p>Gattozzi, 54-year-old a local real estate appraiser with GVI Appraisals Inc., campaigned on an argument the district needed “new energy on the board” and more active representation</p><p>District 6</p><p>Incumbent Marvin Lucas defeated challenger John Lollar in the District 6 race.</p><p>“This was a hard-fought race, and we really worked hard to win,” said Lucas, who continued to campaign with supporters at the Grace Church polling place until the close of voting on Tuesday. </p><p>Lucas, a 51-year-old employee of DCH Regional Medical Center, sought another term to continue the work to improve the system begun during his tenure on the board.</p><p>He said his priority will be making sure the board is on the same page moving forward. </p><p>“The main thing is to continue moving in the positive direction that we are moving,” Lucas said. “We have made tremendous progress and we want to continue.”</p><p>Lollar said he was disappointed in the results but believed he ran a good race. </p><p>Lollar, a 64-year-old vice president and business banker at Robertson Banking Co., argued in his campaign the board needed new leadership, claiming the current members had been indecisive at times and allowed decisions to be delayed too long. </p><p>“I gave it a good shot,” Lollar said. “I worked hard and had a lot of good volunteers.” </p><p>Lollar said he would like to remain involved with the board. </p><p>“I am very passionate about the school system continuing to improve,” Lollar said. </p><p>District 7</p><p>Incumbent Erskine Simmons defeated challenger Renwick Jones to maintain his District 7 school board seat. Simmons said he was pleased to be able to serve the area's schoolchildren for four more years.</p><p>“I'm excited, and most importantly I'm grateful for my family, the people in District 7, all our friends and our supporters of this campaign,” Simmons said shortly after results were announced. “I'm so proud of this campaign in which we focused on the children, and on the children's successes, and not failure, but where we're going for the future.”</p><p>Progress needs to continue on recently enacted programs and initiatives, he said, such as the STEAM program at University Place, the newly opened Tuscaloosa Career and Technology Academy, but also on moving forward those successes to all the schools, especially those in west Tuscaloosa.</p><p>“We can do it all, if given the opportunity to continue that fight. I'm confident that if we continue along these lines, we'll see more success,” Simmons said.</p><p>Power outage</p><p>A short power outage left people unable to vote for about five minutes at the District 1 Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation polling place. The problem did not affect the submission of ballots, said City Clerk Tracy Croom.</p><p>A forklift operator at a condo construction site at Ninth Street and 22nd Avenue inadvertently pulled a utility pole and power line down. Alabama Power crews used a jumper to bypass the pole.</p><p>City officials considered three alternate City Hall campus locations with access to generator power before services were restored. </p><p>What's next</p><p>On Nov. 4, Lucas, Lee, Simmons, Minyard, unchallenged District 2 incumbent Earnestine Tucker, District 3 candidate-elect Norman Crow and new board chair Garrison will take office as the new Tuscaloosa City School Board.</p><p>Staff Writers Mark Hughes Cobb, Ed Enoch, Stephanie Taylor and Lydia Seabol Avant contributed to this report.</p>